Mendoza (name)
Mendoza is a Basque surname, also occurring as a place name.
The name Mendoza means "cold mountain", derived from the Basque words mendi (mountain) and (h)otz (cold) + definite article '-a' (Mendoza being mendi+(h)otza). The original Basque form with an affricate sibilant (/ts/, Basque spelling /tz/) evolved in Spanish to the current form.
Originally the noble family line bearing the surname was based in the castle of the same name, not far from Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, where it still stands out. However, one of the family branches comes from Laudio, 50 km away to the northwest from Vitoria-Gasteiz. The family got involved in the medieval bloody War of the Clans. Not only that, the house of Mendoza set up close ties with Castile since the High Middle Ages, with its members participating in their civil wars and the Castilian expansion south. They got wider renown after their involvement in the conquest of America after 1492.
In Erandio, a baserri exists with the same name. Its original name "mendotza" developed to "mendontze" in the 1890s, "mendoche" in the 1920s, "mendotxe" in the 1980s to the restored original of "mendotza" being the current.[1]
Notable people with the surname
Business
- Eugenio Mendoza, Venezuelan businessman
- Lorenzo Mendoza, Venezuelan businessman
- Tom Mendoza, Vice Chairman of NetApp, Inc. and namesake of Notre Dame's business school
Art and entertainment
- Amalia Mendoza, a Mexican singer
- Brillante Mendoza, a Filipino film director
- Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008
- Eduardo Mendoza Garriga, a Spanish novelist
- Hazel Ann Mendoza, a Filipina actress
- Javier Mendoza, singer-songwriter and composer
- Javier Mendoza (boxer), Mexican professional boxer
- June Mendoza, portrait painter
- Linda Mendoza, an American film and television director
- Lydia Mendoza, a Tex-Mex singer and interpreter of "corridos"
- Mandoza, a South African musician famous for the Kwaito song 50/50
- Marco Mendoza, bass player
- Maine Mendoza, a Filipina actress
- Natalie Mendoza, a Hong Kong-born Australian actress and musician
- Philip Mendoza, a British artist and cartoonist
- Rebecca Jackson Mendoza, an Australian actress, singer and dancer
- Thristan Mendoza, a Filipino musician
- Mario Mendoza Zambrano, a Colombian Writer
- Loy Mendonsa, an Indian music composer
- Roberto Mendoza, United States Home builders with headquarters in Louisiana
Fiction
- Rodrigo Mendoza, fictional character of the movie The Mission
- Mendoza, fictional character of the "Company" books by Kage Baker
- Aristotle "Ari" Mendoza, main character from the book "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe", written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Military
- César Mendoza, member of Government Junta of Chile (1973) as chief of Carabineros de Chile
- Pedro de Mendoza, conquistador
- Bernardino de Mendoza, Captain General
Politics and government
- Antonio de Mendoza, first Viceroy of New Spain
- Bernardino de Mendoza, Spanish statesman and ambassador
- Carlos Antonio Mendoza, acting President of Panama
- César Mendoza, Chilean soldier
- Cristóbal Mendoza, First President of Venezuela
- Eduardo Mendoza Goiticoa, a Venezuelan cabinet minister and scientist
- Eugenio Mendoza, a Venezuelan cabinet minister and industrial
- García Hurtado de Mendoza, a Spanish governor of Chile
- Inés Mendoza, wife of Puerto Rico Governor Luis Muñoz Marín
- Juan González de Mendoza, Spanish minister and historian
- Leandro Mendoza, Philippine Secretary of Transportation and Communications
- Pedro González de Mendoza, Spanish cardinal and statesman
- Susana Mendoza, Chicago, Illinois politician
- Victoria Muñoz Mendoza, Puerto Rico politician
Religion
- Pedro González de Mendoza, Spanish cardinal and statesman
Royalty
- Ana de Mendoza y de la Cerda, Spanish aristocrat
- Beatriz Fajardo de Mendoza y de Guzmán, Baroness of Polop and Benidorm
Sport
- Alvin Mendoza, Mexican football (soccer) player
- Ana Mendoza, Mexican breaststroke swimmer
- Carlos Mendoza, baseball player
- Daniel Mendoza, English boxer
- Gabriel Mendoza, Chilean football (soccer) player
- Jessica Mendoza, American softball player
- Jesús Mendoza, Mexican football player
- Jonny Mendoza, Venezuelan boxer
- Luis Mendoza, baseball player
- Mario Mendoza, baseball player
- Michael Mendoza, American football player
- Mike Mendoza, baseball player
- Ramiro Mendoza, baseball player
- Rigoberto Mendoza, Cuban marathon runner
- Saúl Mendoza, disabled athlete
- Stiven Mendoza, Colombian footballer